CPJ slams Barzani's security forces for targeting journalists

ERBIL,— The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned Erbil security forces affiliated with the Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) for using force against journalists covering protests, including the use of tear gas, arrests, and raids on media outlets.

At least 12 news reporters were targeted while reporting on a February 9, 2025 demonstration by teachers and public employees protesting unpaid salaries. According to CPJ, at least 22 journalists were affected by tear gas, two were detained, and a television station was raided.

“The aggressive treatment of journalists by Erbil security forces while covering a peaceful protest is deeply concerning,” CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna said in a statement from New York.

“We urge Iraqi Kurdistan authorities to ensure journalists can report freely during protests, as press freedom has repeatedly come under attack.”

Iraqi Kurdistan has faced an ongoing financial crisis since 2014, when its government began exporting oil independently, prompting Baghdad to cut its funding.

A 2024 ruling by Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ordered the federal government to pay Kurdistan’s civil servants directly, but disagreements between the two sides have led to continued salary delays.

Since the end of the Kurdish civil war in 1998, the region has been divided between the KDP, which controls Erbil, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which dominates Sulaimani. The KDP has discouraged teachers from protesting, while the PUK has occasionally supported them through affiliated media outlets.

On the day of the demonstration, teachers from Sulaimani attempted to march toward Erbil but were stopped at the Degala checkpoint, where multiple journalists were attacked. NRT TV camera operator Ali Abdulhadi and reporter Shiraz Abdullah were blocked from filming by seven armed Asayish officers, one of whom loaded his rifle as a warning. Abdulhadi attempted to leave but was struck on the finger with a rifle butt, and his camera was confiscated.

Reporter Zhilya Ali (also known as Kçekeî Kejal) from Diplomatic channel collapsed due to tear gas exposure and was hospitalized for treatment.

Zhyan Media’s Mardin Mohammed and camera operator Mohammed Mariwan were also hospitalized in Koya after being affected by tear gas, with Mariwan stating they lost consciousness for three hours.

Kurdsat News staff, including reporters Gaylan Sabir and Amir Mohammed and camera operators Sirwan Sadiq and Hemn Mohammed, were teargassed and had their equipment confiscated.

Several other journalists reported similar treatment. Five staff members from Westga News, including reporters Omer Ahmed, Shahin Fuad, and Amir Hassan, along with camera operators Zanyar Mariwan and Ahmed Shakhawan, were attacked and teargassed. Ahmed said security forces seized a camera during a live broadcast, while Fuad reported losing additional equipment.

Slemani News Network reporter Kochar Hamza collapsed from tear gas and was carried to safety by protesters before being hospitalized twice. Payam TV staff required oxygen and medication due to exposure, while camera operator Sayed Yasser was struck in the knee by a rubber bullet. Speda TV reporter Madah Jamal was also teargassed, while Xendan’s Shahen Wahab and camera operator Garmian Omar suffered asthma attacks from the exposure. Gali Kurdistan reporter Karwan Nazim had to stop reporting due to breathing difficulties and sought medical treatment for an allergic reaction.

Beyond the protest site, security forces also targeted journalists at their workplaces. In Erbil, Asayish officers raided the office of KNN TV, a pro-opposition outlet affiliated with the Gorran Movement. According to the station’s Erbil bureau chief, Abdulwahab Ahmed, two unmarked vehicles followed KNN reporters back to their office around 1:30 p.m. before officers forcibly seized their mobile phones and reviewed their social media accounts.

Reporter Pasha Sangar said the officers accused them of filming security deployments near the United Nations compound, where the protest was initially planned to take place. KNN’s Mohammed Kaka Ahmed said authorities deleted footage of the area from their devices before returning them.

Later that evening, Asayish officers arrested Politic Press reporter Taman Rawandzi and camera operator Nabi Malik Faisal while they were live broadcasting about the protest. The two were taken to Zerin station for several hours of questioning.

Rawandzi reported that officers demanded they unlock their phones, which they refused to do, prompting security forces to connect the devices to a computer. He later noticed his phone was running slowly and planned to replace it. According to him, officers told them not to cover similar protests in the future.

The ongoing crackdown has drawn widespread criticism from human rights organizations and watchdogs, which have described the situation as a reflection of the region’s declining human rights standards and increasing hostility toward independent journalism.

CPJ has called on Kurdistan authorities to investigate the incidents and take measures to protect press freedom in the region.

(With files from The Committee to Protect Journalists)